Let's Chat About Decodable Texts
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When a text is decodable, it means that it only contains words with spelling patterns that students have already learned. A text is NOT decodable if the students reading them have not received explicit and direct instruction of the included phoneme-grapheme relationships. Students who are instructed with decodable build confience and success using and building upon previously taught skills to become confidence and successful readers.
One of the more frequent and important questions asked is: There are. so mnay decodable texts out there these days. How do I choose the best ones?
First and foremore, the decodable texts you use should align with the sequence in which you are introducing spelling patterns.
The decodables I am spotlighting on this page is the Charge into Reading Decodable Readers. Full disclosure, I have the privilege of being the literacy consultant for this company, and absoutely love them, but not just becausae I’ve been a part of the creation process. Here’s why I think these these books are a must-have.
1) Decodable Words that follow a sequence
There are 10 stages in the Charge into Reading decodable series, and each book in each stage methodically introduces words relevant to the phonics sequence for that stage while building upon knowledge of spelling patterns in previous stages. Words are thoughtfully used to align with the sequence. (The sequence is available here.) Each book is also clearly labeled in the top corner for easy identification of targeted spelling pattern or sound.
2) Complete transparency
Before placing an order, you can get a full list of words in each text. This transparency allows the buyer to preview all the words in each book. Are there any words you will need to pre-teach for vocabulary or other purposes? Do you just want to know the content and word choices for the text you will introduce to your young readers? No surprises. A complete list is available prior to purchasing.
3) LIMITED HIGH FREQUENCY WORDS
We all know that most books can’t be written with JUST the words from the sequence for that specific stage, although these come very close! Ultimately, writers have to make room for some high-frequency words—these may be words that are decodable but with patterns readers haven’t yet learned (we or for), or words with irregular spelling patterns (said). There are a very limited number of such words in these texts, but again, there is also full transparency so that the buyer will know which words they are ahead of time.
4) a storyline! (AND ADDITIONAL LITERACY ACTIVITIES)
Each book was thoughtfully written with a true storyline. Each 14-page story has an added 8 pages of sound-specific literacy activities and is bound together in a just-right-size book for little hands.
5) Incidental INclusion of diverse characters
Children need to see themselves reflected in stories as main characters who are not there for the purpose of educating others about who they are or what their challenges are. This was something discussed early on in the development of these books , and we have made a point of ensuring that every stage of the series features diverse main characters whose job is not to educate others about their identities or disabilities.
6) tier 2 vocabulary
Who says decodable vocabulary has to be dull? Perhaps one of my favorite features of these books is the academic vocabulary. Some of these words are multi-meaning words which can be the basis of an engaging language activity. Let’s take one of the Stage 2 texts, The Plum Plot. How many different meanings of plot can you think of? The main events of a book, to secretly plan and carry out an action, and a parcel of land. In a Stage 9 text, The Sleigh, all three homophones pear, pair, and pare are used. As we move along each stage, we include words such as: mulch, cove, hedge, sparse, boast, waylaid, and trawler, just to name a few!
BEFORE YOU GO…
CHECK OUT THE SCIENCE DECODABLE TEXTS
Charge into Reading also published a box set of nonfiction science decodable readers. These are PhD-vetted, 48-page books decodable through Stage 7 of the fiction sequence. These are aligned to science standards, but also the perfect pick for those older readers that don’t want a babyish feeling book in their hands but still need the support of decodable text.
3 Ways to Gamify Decoding Practice
(This post includes affiliate links. You will never incur a charge for this. You may read more about this here.)
We know that practice, practice, practice makes progress. But we also know that repetition, while helpful, can become boring. One way to achieve meaningful repetition of skills is through games. Below are three ways to easily gamify decoding practice.
SWAT THE SOUND
Materials:
List of words with either one spelling pattern that represents more than one sound, or two different patterns. In the above example, OW is used to represent /o/ (snow) and /ow/ (plow).
A fly swatter.
How to Play:
When you have your word list, write each word on an index card. For extra practice, students can write the words.
Shuffle the cards and lay them out.
Using a fly swatter like this one, the student listens carefully as the teacher says a sound, and then finds, says, and “swats” a word that has that sound.
ROCKs, PAPERS, SCISSORS, READ
Materials:
Decodable sentences. (The ones featured here are from my Decoding Practice resource.)
A set of these fun Rocks, Paper, Scissors dice.
How to Play:
Cut out the sentence strips and place them upside down in a pile.
Players roll the dice. Who ever wins the roll picks up a sentence strip and reads it fluently. The reader keeps the sentence strip.
Continue to roll. Winner picks a strip to read and then keep. The player with the most strips wins the round.
Roll & Read
Materials:
Roll & Read phonics sheets. (The ones featured here are from my Decoding Practice resource.)
Dice. Personally, I love these eraser dice because they have a quieter roll!
Highlighters.
How to Play:
Roll the die.
Choose a word in the row that matches the number on the die. Highlight the targeted spelling pattern.
© MW LITERACY®️ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Structured Literacy 101
You’ve heard about structured literacy. It seems to be everywhere. But what is it? It is a proven, evidence-based approach to delivering instruction. A structured literacy approach has these important components:
EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION
Explicit instruction is teaching our students directly what we want them to learn. We cannot have them guessing, nor can we hint at or superficially expose students to information that we expect they will simply absorb. This can result in misinterpretation, confusion, knowledge gaps, and whole lot of wasted time.
SYSTEMATIC & SEQUENTIAL INSTRUCTION
Systematic instruction means there is a system in place. We aren’t throwing darts to decide on which skill to focus and how. We assess, observe, evaluate, and make informed decisions about how students’ instructional needs will be met, and have a system for delivering instruction to them.
Having a system in place goes hand in hand with a sequence to implement sequential instruction. A sequence allows students to learn information in a progression that supports their learning and ability to build new knowledge based on previously taught knowledge. Students will have trouble acquiring and retaining new information if the proper building blocks are out of place.
For example, we teach open and closed syllables before we expect students to decode multisyllabic words. We won’t expect students to read texts with spelling patterns they haven’t yet been introduced to. We won’t expect students to spell multisyllabic words if they’re still struggling with identifying syllables, nor will we have students write paragraphs if they are still unable to write at the sentence level.
SCAFFOLDED INSTRUCTION
I grew up in New York City. On any given day, I’d see giant steel structures around a building. I learned at a young age that they were called scaffolds. Their purpose was to provide a safe and accessible working environment at construction sites. Scaffolds are always temporary and meant to be used only during the construction period. Eventually they disappear when their intended purpose is fulfilled.
Like the scaffolds I often saw around the city, scaffolds in education function within a similar framework. Scaffolds are TEMPORARY modifications or supports that make learning content more accessible for students. They allow learning to happen more efficiently and effectively. Not all students require scaffolded instruction, but for those who do, it can be a critical part of the instruction they receive.
Instructional scaffolding, a term created by psychologist Vygotsky, was defined as “the role of teachers and others in supporting the learner’s development and providing support structures to get to that next stage or level” (Raymond 2000).
CUMULATIVE INSTRUCTION
The last component of the structured model! Instruction doesn’t just end when the information and knowledge is delivered. Cumulative instruction reinforces that practice MUST be incorporated through committed review. In cumulative instruction, new instruction is built upon previous knowledge.
© MW LITERACY®️ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Explore literacy and executive function related topics. More coming soon. Stay tuned…
